CAIRO, November 10. /TASS/. Cairo and Doha are against any solution to the Palestinian problem that harms Middle East countries as well as attempts to drive the Palestinians from their soil, the press service of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said after his talks with visiting Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The sides called for "rejecting any attempts to eliminate the Palestinian problem at the expense of the Palestinian people or regional states or driving the Palestinian people from their soil by force," it said, adding that al-Sisi and Al Thani discussed the current escalation in the Gaza Strip and related regional problems, which "are pushing the region in a dangerous and unpredictable direction."

The two leaders exchanged views on "the most acceptable ways to protect Gaza’s civilian population and stop the bloodshed in the enclave," it said. They also agreed to continue consultations "to defend the Palestinian people and attain its key goal - the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in accordance with international law, which will promote fair peace in the region."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.